Pulverizers (pulverisers) are mechanical devices used for pulverizing, crushing, and grinding a wide variety of materials to varying finesses. Just some of the many materials that pulverisers can consume include brick, coal, concrete, limestone, paper, plastic materials, metal, rubber, grains, and wood. Read More…
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SSI Shredding Systems, Inc. is ready to suit your shredding, compacting and pulverizing needs. We have multiple reducers to choose from to meet your pulverizing requirements with ease.
Eriez designs and manufactures pulverizers as well as a wide variety of other size reduction equipment. Our pulverizers can crush coal, chemicals, spices, bricks, soil, and more. We have developed solutions for the food, chemical, mining, and many other industries. If you need to separate your products or materials efficiently and quickly, call Eriez today!
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More Pulverizer Manufacturers
Pulverizers deliver material size reduction services for various purposes, such as producing fine powder for pharmaceuticals, creating pulp for paper manufacturing, grinding grain for food production, shredding and recycling tires, breaking down construction materials, turning soil, crushing vehicles for scrap, and grinding rock samples. Industries that depend on pulverizers include construction, agriculture, industrial manufacturing, power generation, pharmaceutical development, landscaping, laboratories, printing, recycling, and material processing.
History of Pulverizers
The concept of pulverizing materials dates back thousands of years, with early methods involving hand grinding. During the Renaissance, both hand-held and water-powered hammers were used to crush materials like coal. The need for more efficient heating solutions led engineers to develop the first coal grinders. This innovation gained momentum in the 18th and 19th centuries as chimneys became common in homes, increasing coal usage. In 1824, French physicist Sadi Carnot advanced the coal pulverizer’s significance by designing an engine based on the thermodynamic cycle, which utilized pulverized coal.
In the late 19th century, American entrepreneurs and engineers recognized the potential of pulverizers beyond coal applications, focusing on agricultural uses. In 1886, Loy Satany and Fred Hepworth patented a soil pulverizer, followed by Frederick Meier’s patent for a clod crusher in 1892. Throughout the next century, pulverizers diversified and advanced. By the late 1940s and early 1950s, engineers had increased pulverizer speeds, leading to the development of the jet pulverizer in 1954. The advent of CNC technology further enhanced pulverizer precision and programmability. Today, pulverizers play a crucial role in construction, energy, recycling, and sustainability. Looking ahead, manufacturers aim to develop pulverizers that can efficiently process recyclables while being environmentally friendly and efficient.
How Pulverizers Work
Pulverizers are versatile machines designed to process materials either in batches or through continuous operation. They typically receive incoming material via a conveyor system, where it is then subjected to rotation and pressure, effectively crushing the material. As the material exits the pulverizer, it may undergo additional processes such as cooling, heating, or aeration, enhancing its properties for further use.
For user convenience, pulverizers offer adjustable settings that allow for the crushing of materials to various levels of fineness, ranging from very fine to coarse. This adaptability ensures that the pulverized output meets specific requirements for a wide range of applications, making pulverizers an essential tool in numerous industries.
Types of Pulverizers
Pulverizers are categorized into three main types: crushers, impactors, and grinding mills. Crushers reduce large, dense materials like rock and stone into gravel or dust. They are primarily used for size reduction, easy disposal or recycling, and material differentiation. Jaw crushers, featuring one stationary and one mobile jaw, are a common design.
Impactors, or impact crushers, function similarly to crushers but achieve size reduction through collision or striking, unlike crushers that use pressure from opposing forces. Both methods employ pressure and collision forces.
Grinding mills break down materials using friction created by grinding media such as non-sparking lead, ceramics, brass, bronze, and flint. Common types of grinding mills include ball mills and hammermills. Ball mills consist of a horizontally mounted rotating cylinder using steel balls or rods as grinding media to crush the material. Hammermills use rapidly revolving hammers in a vertical plane to achieve the same result.
Grinding Mills
Grinding mills function by breaking down materials through the creation of friction, facilitated by various types of grinding media. These media can encompass a variety of coarse substances, with brass, bronze, ceramics, flint, and non-sparking lead being particularly prevalent due to their efficiency and safety properties. Among the numerous grinding mills available, hammer mills and ball mills are the most commonly employed.
Hammer mills are mainly used in agricultural contexts, where they grind chaff and grain. These mills utilize vertically revolving hammers encased in robust steel or stainless steel, effectively pulverizing the material. The design and operation of hammer mills make them especially suited for the processing requirements typically found on farms.
Ball mills grind materials using steel rods, steel balls, or similar media. The construction of a ball mill is relatively uncomplicated, featuring a horizontally-mounted rotating cylinder with liners that shield against wear. During operation, the grinding media are placed inside the cylinder, where they are tossed or tumbled to achieve the desired grinding effect. This straightforward yet effective mechanism allows ball mills to efficiently process a diverse array of materials.
Tube mills, frequently conflated with ball mills because of their similarities, incorporate a rotating cylinder lined with different materials. Unlike ball mills, tube mills are typically more substantial in size and employ a media blended with water to achieve fine pulverization. This mixture is introduced at one end of the mill and discharged as slurry at the opposite end, facilitating a comprehensive and efficient grinding operation.
Both hammer mills and ball mills are indispensable tools in various industries, offering reliable solutions for material reduction through their distinct operational methods and design characteristics.
Crushers
Crushers are essential tools for breaking down large, dense materials such as rock and stone into smaller fragments like dust or gravel. These machines are primarily used to simplify material separation, reduce material size, and prepare them for recycling or disposal. The jaw crusher is the most commonly used type.
Jaw crushers operate with two jaws: one fixed and the other movable. The movable jaw, known as the swing jaw, is critical to the crushing mechanism. Depending on the pivot point of the swing jaw, jaw crushers are categorized into three types: Blake crushers, Dodge crushers, and Universal crushers. Each type offers distinct features and benefits, catering to various crushing needs.
Blake crushers are distinguished by their design, featuring a swing jaw fixed at the upper position. This configuration allows for efficient crushing, making Blake crushers a preferred choice for various heavy-duty applications.
Dodge crushers have a swing jaw fixed at the lower position. This unique design results in a different crushing motion and makes Dodge crushers particularly effective for specific types of materials and crushing tasks.
Universal crushers offer a versatile solution, with a swing jaw fixed at an intermediate position. This design provides a balanced approach to crushing, combining elements of both Blake and Dodge crushers to handle a wide range of materials with efficiency and precision.
Impactors
Impactors, commonly known as impact crushers, function similarly to traditional crushers but employ a unique method for material reduction. Unlike traditional crushers that use pressure from two opposing forces, impactors utilize impaction, where force is delivered through collisions. This process takes place within a chamber that holds the material to be crushed. As the material collides within the chamber, it gradually diminishes in size and exits through openings positioned at the bottom, side, or end of the chamber. In addition to widely used pulverizers, there are several specialized varieties, including gyratory crushers, cone crushers, MPS mills, and bowl mills.
Gyratory crushers are used for primary or secondary crushing in ore or mine processing facilities. They resemble jaw crushers, featuring conical heads and concave surfaces typically lined with manganese steel. However, gyratory crushers use eccentric, or off-center, motion instead of rotational movement to reduce material size.
Cone crushers, frequently utilized in mining for secondary crushing, are closely related to gyratory crushers. They excel with mid-hard to harder ores and rocks. The crushing chamber of a cone crusher is less steep compared to that of a gyratory crusher. Cone crushers work by compressing materials between a bowl liner and a mantle, mounted on an eccentrically gyrating spindle. The material moves downward through the crusher, continuously breaking down until it is small enough to pass through a narrow opening at the bottom. Cone crushers are classified into four distinct categories: compound cone crushers, also known as VSC series cone crushers, Symons cone crushers or spring cone crushers, single cylinder hydraulic cone crushers, and multi-cylinder hydraulic cone crushers.
MPS mills, which are also known as applied force mills or vertical spindle roller mills, rely on tires as their grinding media. Specialized in coal pulverization, these mills receive coal through a central feed pipe onto a grinding table. Here, the tires roll over the coal, effectively crushing it.
Bowl mills use tires to crush coal and are available in two primary configurations: shallow bowls and deep bowls. The design of each type caters to specific pulverization needs, with the rolling action of the tires ensuring efficient and consistent grinding.
Pulverizers are categorized based on their operational speeds into low, medium, and high-speed machines, each tailored to specific applications such as pulp and paste creation, medication grinding, and concrete crushing. Low-speed pulverizers encompass ball mills and tube mills, known for their robust grinding capabilities. Medium-speed pulverizers, including ring and ball mills, MPS mills, and bowl mills, offer a balanced performance suited for a variety of industrial processes. High-speed pulverizers, such as attrition mills and jet pulverizers, deliver exceptional efficiency and precision for demanding tasks, making them indispensable in advanced material processing applications.
Pulverizer Equipment Components
Pulverizer machines have varying components depending on their type but typically include an entry feed, a rotating mechanism (such as a drum), a grinding element (like metal balls), and an exit feed. Certain models are equipped with temperature regulation and airflow systems, including air precleaners and compressors, to facilitate the drying of the pulverized material. For enhanced safety, these machines often feature automatic shut-off functions, protective barriers, sensors, and guardrails.
Designing Pulverizer Equipment
When selecting or designing a custom pulverizer, suppliers consider key factors such as feed quantity, material breaking behavior, initial texture (coarse or fine), abrasion resistance, hardness, cleanliness (including contaminants), and the required finished texture and fineness.
Using these criteria, manufacturers determine the optimal pulverizer configuration, deciding on continuous or batch operation, the necessity of an airflow component, appropriate speed, and the best grinding tools for your application.
Pulverizer Safety and Standards
Pulverizers, if used or manufactured improperly, pose significant safety risks. Recognizing this, several standards organizations have established safety and compliance guidelines. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) provides essential guidelines for workplace practices to mitigate potential hazards for pulverizer operators in the United States. Additionally, ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) also issue relevant standards. Various industries may have their own specific guidelines or require adherence to these established standards. For optimal safety practices concerning your pulverizer, consult with industry leaders.
Purchasing Pulverizers
To select the optimal pulverizer system for your application, it is essential to collaborate with a manufacturer who understands your requirements and possesses the capability and experience to deliver effective results. When evaluating potential manufacturers, consider not only your application needs but also key project details, such as budget, deadlines, delivery preferences, and post-delivery services (e.g., installation assistance, parts replacement).
Refer to the manufacturers listed on this page, as they have consistently demonstrated their expertise and offer unique advantages. Review their profiles and websites to identify three or four companies of interest. Engage with these companies to discuss your application. Afterward, compare your discussions, assess the advantages and disadvantages, and choose the manufacturer that best meets your needs.